Coated phosphors are known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,585,673; 4,825,124; 5,080,928; 5,118,529; 5,156,885; 5,220,243; 5,244, 750; and 5,418,062. It is known from some of the just-mentioned patents that a coating precursor and oxygen can be used to apply a protective coating. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,244,750 and 4,585,673. The coating processes in several of the others of these patents employ chemical vapor deposition to apply a protective coating by hydrolysis. It would be an advance in the art if a coating process could be developed that operated in the absence of water or water vapor. It would be a further advance to increase the efficacy and the life of such coated phosphors.